After a string of better-than-expected economic data, investors are rotating back into cyclical sector stocks and related exchange traded funds.
“The jobs report is clearly a sign of continued and accelerating strength of the economy,” Jeff Korzenik, Chicago-based chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Bancorp., said in a Bloomberg article. “The cyclical leadership in many ways will become more pronounced.”
Last week, U.S. stocks rallied on the dip in the unemployment rate to an almost six-year low, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading above 17,000 for the first time, the Dow Jones Transportation Average rising to a record last week and the Russell 2000 coming within a point of an all-time high as well.
Analysts believe that these patterns are harbingers of continued strengthen in the markets, arguing that the data reveals economic growth is permeating through various industries.
“The stock market’s ticker tape is in gear,” Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer at Leuthold Group, said in the article. “This is a very broad move to new highs, which generally means that the earliest the bull market would top out is months in advance, four to six months at minimum.”
Leading the pack, transportation, industrials and small-capitalization stocks have been outperformers. The gains reflect optimistic projections that cyclical sector stocks will generate some of the best earnings growth in the S&P 500 this year.